Monday, April 4, 2016

How to Keep the Fast

How to Keep the Fast

Dan Everiss

Source: Shared from a general-sharing from Protodeacon Basil Yakimov in Australia:

HOW TO KEEP THE FAST

On fasting

“For
this kind is expelled only by prayer and fasting” (Matt. 17:21). With
these words the Lord Himself indicated to us two kinds of weapons in our
combat against our enemy – the dark and evil spirits. At the same time,
He indicated to His disciples the need for them to fast at a time “when
the Bridegroom shall be taken from them” (Matt. 9:15). The grace of the
Holy Spirit is taken away from us through our sins. And its return to
us is achieved primarily by means of repentance, assisted by prayer and
fasting.

However,
if the necessity of prayer for the salvation of the soul is recognized
by all Christians, the necessity of fasting is often inadequately
realized. And that is one of the cunning traps of the evil spirits into
which fall many modern Christians.

In
former not too distant times the confession of Christ was tied in with
the fulfillment of all Church rules. For this reason, in the daily life
of erstwhile Russian families we see a strict observance of Lenten days –
Wednesdays and Fridays, and the four fasts established by the Church.
The pious lay people of ancient Russia were not far behind the monastics
in the sphere of fasting.

The
time of fasting is an especially important time for spiritual life, it
is “a favorable time, it is the day of salvation” (2 Cor. 6:2). If the
soul of a Christian pines for purity and seeks spiritual health, then it
must try to make the best possible use of this time that is so
beneficial for the soul. For this reason it has become the custom among
genuinely God-fearing people to congratulate each other upon the
beginning of a fast.

But
what in essence is fasting? And is there not a sense of self-deception
among those who feel obligated to follow the fast to the letter, but who
do not love it and are burdened by it in their hearts? And can a simple
compliance with the rule for eating only Lenten foods on days of
fasting be called a fast? Will the fast truly be a fast if, except for
some alteration in our food intake, we will think neither of repentance,
nor or abstinence, nor of cleansing our hearts through intensified
prayers?

We
must assume that this will not be a fast, even though all the rules and
customs of fast are kept. St. Barsonuphius the Great says: “Physical
fasting has no meaning without the spiritual fasting of the inner man,
which consists of guarding oneself from passions. Such a fasting of the
inner man is pleasing to God and will reward you for the shortcomings of
physical fasting” (if you were unable to keep the fast properly).

St.
John Chrystostome says the same: “Whoever restricts the fast to a
simple abstinence from food, dishonors it terribly. It is not only the
lips that should fast – no, let the eyes, and the ears, and the hands,
and the feet, and our entire body be engaged in fasting.”

Father
Alexander Elchaninov writes: “Fasting does not equate with hunger. The
fakir, and the yogi, and the prisoner in his prison, and the simple
beggar – all hunger. Nowhere in the services of the Great Lent does it
speak about the fast as an isolated event in our usual meaning, i.e. as
not eating meat and other foods. Everywhere there is the same appeal:
‘Let us fast, brethren, physically and let us fast spiritually.’
Consequently, fasting only then has religious meaning when it is joined
with spiritual labors.”

The
fast represents absolute abstinence, in order to restore the lost
balance between body and spirit, in order to give back to our spirit its
authority over the body and its passions. The Lord Himself showed us an
example of Lent by fasting for 40 days in the wilderness, from whence
He “returned in the power of the Spirit” (Luke 4:14).

St.
Isaac the Syrian says: “Lent is a weapon prepared by God. If the
Lawgiver Himself fasted, how can someone who is obligated to follow the
law not fast? Before the fast mankind did not know victory, and the
devil never experienced defeat. Our Lord was the commander and prime
mover of this victory. And as soon as the devil sees this weapon in the
hands of a person, this terrible tormentor immediately becomes afraid,
remembering his defeat by the Saviour in the wilderness, and his power
is destroyed. Whoever remains fasting is unshakeable in spirit” (Homily
30).

It
is quite obvious that the labor of repentance and prayer during fasting
should be accompanied by thoughts of one’s sinfulness and, naturally,
by abstinence from all amusements – going to the theater and movies,
visiting people, engaging in light reading, listening to gay music,
watching television, etc. If all of this attracts a Christian’s heart,
he should make an effort to tear his heart away from it, at least during
the days of Lent. It should be remembered, for example, that on Fridays
St. Seraphim not only fasted, but spent the day in absolute silence.

Father
Alexander Elchaninov writes: “The fast is a period of spiritual effort.
If we are unable to give up our entire life to God, let us at least
dedicate to Him utterly the periods of fasting – let us strengthen our
prayer, increase our charity, tame our passions, make peace with our
enemies.”

Besides
expressing repentance and abhorrence of sin, the fast has other
aspects, too. The specific days of fasting are not chosen randomly.
Wednesday symbolizes the betrayal of the Saviour – the lowest moment of
the human soul’s fall and shame, as it goes in the person of Judas to
betray the Son of God for 30 pieces of silver. Friday symbolizes the
endurance of humiliation, of agonizing suffering, and death on the cross
of the Redeemer of mankind. Remembering all of this, how can a
Christian not restrict himself by means of abstinence?

The
Great Lent is the Son of God’s path towards the sacrifice on Golgotha,
etc. The human soul has no right, cannot – if it is Christian – pass
indifferently by these majestic days – significant landmarks in time.
Afterwards, at the Last Judgment, how will it dare to stand at the right
side of the Lord, if it was indifferent to His sorrow, blood and
suffering on those days when the Universal Church – both on earth and in
heaven – remembers them?

In
essence the fast is a spiritual endeavor and is connected with faith
and daring. The fast is pleasing to the Lord as an impulse of a soul
that is aspiring towards purity, striving to release itself from the
fetters of sin, and free the spirit from servitude to the body. The
Church considers it to be one of the efficacious resources by means of
which one can transmute God’s wrath to mercy or bend God’s will towards
the fulfillment of a prayerful entreaty. Thus, the Acts of the Apostles
describe how the Christians of Antioch fasted and prayed before sending
the holy apostles Paul and Barnabas out to preach (Acts 13:3). Therefore
the fast is also practiced in the Church as a means for preparing
oneself for some endeavor. When in need of something, individual
Christians, monastics, monasteries or churches in general applied
themselves to fasting and increased prayer.

Abstinence in food

For
physically healthy people the basis of fasting is considered to be
abstinence in food. Here one can distinguish 5 levels of physical
fasting: (1) the giving up of meat, (2) the giving up of dairy products,
(3) the giving up of fish, (4) abstinence from vegetable oil, (5)
complete abstinence from food for a certain period of time. Naturally
the last levels of fasting can be accomplished only by healthy people.
For the sick and the old the first levels of fasting are more
appropriate, of which we will speak in more detail below.

The
power and efficacy of the fast can be evaluated by the strength of
deprivation and sacrifice. And, naturally, it is not only the formal
replacement of non-Lenten foods with Lenten foods that makes up the true
fast: one can prepare exquisite meals from Lenten foods as well, and
thus satisfy to some degree both one’s voluptuousness and one’s
gluttony.

We
should remember that it is improper for a penitent sorrowing over his
sins to eat deliciously and abundantly during the Lent, even though the
meals be formally Lenten. It may be said that that is not a fast at all,
if a person gets up from a table laden with delicious Lenten foods and
feels a satiation of the stomach. This does not equate with sacrifice or
deprivation, and without the latter there is no genuine fasting.
“Wherefore have we fasted, and Thou seest not?” – calls out the prophet
Isaiah, denouncing the Jews who hypocritically observed all the rules,
yet in their hearts stood far from God and His commandments (Isaiah
58:3).

In
some cases ailing Christians on their own replace the usual fasting in
food with a “spiritual” fast. The latter usually means paying stricter
attention to oneself: keeping oneself away from sin – abstaining from
irritation, the judging of others, quarreling, etc. All of this is good
and well, but can a Christian in normal times allow himself to sin, to
become irritated, judgmental of others, etc.? It is obvious that a
Christian must always be sober and attentive, guarding himself from sin
and all that which may offend the Holy Spirit. If, however, he is unable
to restrain himself, then the same thing will probably occur both on
regular days and during the Lent. In such a case the replacement of
fasting in food with a similar “spiritual” fasting is usually a matter
of self-deception.

Thus
in cases where due to illness or a great shortage of foodstuffs the
Christian is unable to keep to the usual norms of fasting, he should do
the best he can. For example, he can give up sweets and delicacies, keep
fast at least on Wednesdays and Fridays, choose foods in such a manner
that delicious foods would only be offered on holidays, etc. If, due to
illness, a Christian cannot totally abstain from non-Lenten food, he can
at least limit it on days of fasting – for example, abstain from eating
meat. In other words, in one way or another he should do his best to
take part in fasting.

Some
people refuse to fast out of fear of weakening their health, at the
same time exhibiting hypochondria and lack of faith, and strive to
always feed themselves abundantly with non-Lenten food, in order to
attain good health and maintain their bodies in a well-fed state. Yet
how often it is these same people who suffer from various illnesses and
malfunctioning of internal organs!

The
Lord commands us to conceal our fasting from those around us. However,
it may not always be possible for a Christian to conceal his fasting
from family members. In such a case it may happen that his relatives
will be up in arms against the keeper of the fast, and their initially
soft arguments may turn into irritation and rebuke. The evil spirit
rebels against keepers of the fast through their family members, invokes
all sorts of arguments against the fast, and presents all kinds of
temptations, just as he once tried to do with the fasting Lord in the
wilderness.

Let
the Christian foresee all this in advance. Let him also not expect that
as soon as he commences fasting, he will straightaway receive the
comfort of grace, warmth in the heart, tears of tenderness, and ardor in
prayer. This does not come immediately, but must be earned through
struggles, labors, and sacrifices. Those who followed the path of
rigorous fasting confirmed that sometimes at the beginning of the Lent
there was even a weakening of desire for prayer or interest in spiritual
reading, etc.

The
fast is a treatment, and this latter is often not easy. And just as one
can expect health only at the end of a course of treatment, so one
cannot expect the fast to produce the fruits of the Holy Spirit – peace,
joy, etc. – right away.

Discernment in fasting

Just as all virtues, fasting likewise requires discernment.

St.
Cassian the Roman writes: “Extremes, as the holy fathers say, are
equally harmful on both sides – both an excess of fasting and a
satiation of the belly. We know some people who, not having been
conquered by gluttony, were vanquished by excessive fasting and fell
into the same vice of gluttony as a result of the weakness that occurred
from excessive fasting. Moreover, immoderate abstention is more harmful
than satiation, because from the latter one can go back to moderation
by means of repentance, while from the former it is impossible.

The
general rule of moderation in abstention is for each person, in
accordance with his physical strength, state of health, and age, to eat
only as much food as is necessary to support health, and not as much as
one wishes. A monk should conduct the matter of fasting as wisely as
though he would be remaining in his body for a hundred years, and
restrain his inner passions – forget offenses and disdain sorrows – as
one who could die any day.”

At
the same time fasting is not a rite, but a mystery of the human soul,
which the Lord commanded to conceal from others. The Lord says: “When ye
fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they
disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I
say unto you – they have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest,
anoint thine head, and wash thy face, that thou appear not unto men to
fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father, which
seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly” (Matt. 6:16-18). For this
reason a Christian should conceal both his repentance – his prayers and
inner tears – and his fasting and abstinence in food. Here we should
fear to reveal our difference from those around us and should know how
to conceal from them our labors and sacrifices.

In
all cases where the keeper of the fast must eat together with his
frailer brethren, he should not, according to the holy fathers, rebuke
them by his abstinence. Thus the holy abba Isaiah writes: “If you
absolutely wish to abstain more than others, go off into a separate cell
and do not distress your frailer brother.”

It
is not only for the sake of preserving ourselves from vanity that we
should strive not to show off our fasting. If our fast will for some
reason embarrass those around us, will bring forth rebukes from them or,
perhaps, cause mockery, accusations of hypocrisy, etc. – in such cases
we must likewise guard the secret of fasting, according to the words of
the Lord: “Neither cast ye your pearls before swine” (Matt. 7:6).

In
general, church rules must not be treated with formality. We should
remember the Lord’s injunction that “the Sabbath was made for man, and
not man for the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27). At the same time, writes Saint
Innocent of Moscow, “it is not wise to transgress the fast without need,
so that the one who is able to keep the fast through a choice of food –
let him keep it. But the one who does not have the possibility to
choose his food, let him use all that God gives him, but without excess;
at the same time, you must rigorously keep fast with your soul, your
mind, and your thoughts, and then your fast will be as pleasing to God
as the fast of the most abstemious observers of Lent.

The
goal of the fast is to ease and tame the body, restrain desires and
disarm passions. Therefore the Church, asking you about food, does not
primarily wish to know what kind of food you are using, but rather the
reason for which you are using it.”

Saints
Barsonuphius the Great and John say: “What is Lent but punishment of
the body, in order to tame the healthy body and make it frail for
passions, according to the apostle: ‘When I am weak, then I am strong’
(2 Cor. 12:10). And illness, more than such punishment, is counted in
lieu of the fast and is valued even more greatly. Whoever suffers it
patiently, giving gratitude to God, through his patience receives the
fruit of his salvation. Instead of the body’s strength being weakened
through fasting, it is already weakened by the illness. Therefore, do
not be saddened even if you eat several times a day: you will not be
judged for it, since you are not doing it to pamper yourself.”

Concerning
the correct norm for fasting, St. Barsonuphius the Great gives the
following instruction: “In regard to fasting I will say the following:
examine your heart to see whether it has not been robbed by vanity, and
if it was not robbed, then examine it a second time to see whether this
fast has not made you weak in performing your functions, for such
weakness should not exist, and if even in this no harm has come to you,
then you are fasting properly.”

The
desert-dweller Nikiphoros says: “The Lord does not require hunger, but
spiritual labor. Spiritual labor is the utmost a person can do on his
own, and the rest is obtained through grace. We have little strength
now, and so the Lord does not ask any great feats from us. I tried to
fast strictly and saw that I could not. I become weak and lose strength
to pray properly. I once became so weakened by fasting that I could not
even get up to read my prayers.”

This
is an example of improper fasting. Bishop Herman writes: “Exhaustion is
a sign of improper fasting; it is just as harmful as satiation. Even
great elders ate soup with oil during the first week of Great Lent.
Ailing flesh should not be crucified, but supported.”

Thus
all weakening of health and the ability to work during Lent speaks of
its incorrectness and the overstepping of its norm. Best of all is for
keepers of the fast to be guided by the instructions of experienced
spiritual instructors. For elderly people, for example, it can be
difficult to change their usual dietary regimen for the sake of Lent,
since this often leads to a loss of working ability. However, those who
transgress the fast because of illness or old age should still remember
that this can also include a certain amount of lack of faith and
incontinence. For this reason, when the spiritual children of Father
Alexis Zosimovsky were forced to transgress the fast by a doctor’s
prescription, the elder ordered them in such cases to repent and pray
thus: “Lord, forgive me for transgressing the holy fast by order of the
doctor and my own frailty,” and not to think that this is how it must
be.

Lent and children

How
early should children begin to keep the fast? According to the teaching
of the Holy Fathers, a healthy infant does not fast only while he is
being nursed by his mother, i.e. approximately until the age of three.

Together
with the need to keep the fast to some degree, it is also necessary to
ensure that children are prevented from acquiring the habit of satiation
or of eating too frequently and at the wrong time. In this regard, the
holy hierarch Theophanus the Recluse gives the following advice to
parents: “Children must be fed in such a way that, while expanding the
body’s growth and making it strong and healthy, the soul should not be
incited by bodily indulgence. One should not think of the child as being
too small, but from the earliest years one must teach it to restrain
the flesh and control it, so that both in infancy, and in youth, and
even afterwards the individual could easily and freely cope with this
need.”

When
children grow up and their natures and inclinations become established,
parents should exhibit tactfulness in regard to the degree of their
offspring’s fasting. For example, one cannot deprive them of dessert
against their will, or reduce the content of food to such an extent on
days of fasting that the normal bound of church rules would be
overstepped. And for feeble and ailing children a reduction or departure
from fasting is naturally allowed.

In
the same manner grown children (young men and maidens) cannot be
forcibly held to a strict observance of all the rules of fasting if they
feel burdened by it. In such a case the fasting will not bring any
benefit to the soul, but may even harden it. The Lord said: “I will have
mercy and not sacrifice” (Matt. 9:13). Indeed, the entire meaning of
the Lent lies in a voluntary restraint and limiting of oneself. Thus, in
order for the usual rules of fasting not to be burdensome for grown
children, they should be trained to keep fast from the earliest age.

Lent and television

Physical
fasting presupposes the following: (1) abstinence in food; (2) the use
of only certain kinds of food; (3) infrequent eating.

Spiritual
fasting must also include: (1) abstinence in acceptance of external
impressions – the food of the soul, i.e. information, which people have
become used to receiving daily in huge amounts; (2) control over this
information, i.e. over the quality of the food which the soul receives,
and the exclusion of everything that incites the passions; (3)
infrequent intake of this food, i.e. periods of solitude, quiet,
silence, time spent on one’s own, in order to have the opportunity to
realize one’s sins and accomplish the main goal of the Lent, which is
repentance…

Our
passions are closely tied in with sensual images. Passion arises in the
consciousness in the form of a sinful image; and, in turn, a sinful
image accepted from the outside incites passion in our heart.

In
modern times, the stage on which human passions are continuously
demonstrated in all their diversity, effectiveness, and sophistication
is the television. It is similar to a source of constant radiation that
bombards people’s psyches with lethal strontium.

Television
keeps a person in passionate tension, as though the space of its screen
comprises a concentration of all possible emotions, passions, lusts,
cruelty, crimes. All that in previous ages a person could encounter –
and accidentally at that – only a few times throughout his lifetime (for
example, the scene of a murder), he now sees every single day.

Television
caters to man’s basest passions; even seemingly moral plays include
erotic scenes, perhaps out of fear that the viewer will fall asleep from
excessive moralizing, and sometimes these scenes constitute the main
subject of the entire transmission. In turning on the television, a
person voluntarily places himself within the sphere of spiritual filth.

In
ancient times the Church barred adulterers from communion for many
years, because this particular sin soaks all the pores of the body and
soul in poison, and a long time is needed for the person to cleanse
himself and sober up, to get back on his feet as though from a grave and
protracted illness. An adulterer is spiritually dead until he sincerely
repents. After viewing erotic images on television, a person comes to
church as one who is dead: his soul is deaf and blind, it cannot feel
grace, cannot pray sincerely. Repentance presupposes a resolve not to
sin any more, while in this case the person usually returns from church
(sometimes even after taking communion) and spends hours watching
television. He not only becomes spiritually desolate, but gradually
grace itself withers away within him.

Another
evil a person receives from television is becoming inured to killing
and violence. In ancient Rome the battles of gladiators in the circus,
the contests between people and wild animals, and similar “amusements”
attracted tens of thousands of viewers. The motto of the Roman crowd was
“bread and spectacles,” as though these words comprised their entire
life. And the most awesome spectacle for the crowd was the sight of
running blood and the throes of death.

Under
the influence of television people calmly watch murder scenes. If they
had had any human love or compassion left in them, they would have
turned away in horror from such a nightmare. Television has made crime
and cruelty a routine event. If someone were to say that he was
horrified and disgusted at watching scenes of violence and murder, he
would be considered a neurotic. If he were to say that he regarded it
beneath a Christian’s dignity to watch erotic pictures, he would be
called a hypocrite with outdated old-fashioned views.

The
soul has three abilities: reason, emotion, and will. From constant
communion with television a person’s will becomes weakened, emotion
becomes blunted and seeks new stimuli, while reason becomes enslaved by
continuously changing images, which cause the person to live in some
kind of fantasy world.

The
reason has two abilities: visual and verbal thinking. An overabundant
and uncontrollable stream of information develops a mechanical memory,
but suppresses the creative force and energy. A person who continuously
takes in an excessive amount of food becomes a shapeless lump of fat
which has a hard time moving and breathing, and which is barely able to
move its legs under its own weight. An excessive and uncontrollable
amount of information is similar to chronic overeating. The mind becomes
feeble and passive and dependent on alien opinions and ideas. The
images which the person has seen on television revolve in his
subconscious, surface in his memory, flitter in his dreams. Thinking
becomes superficial, while the tongue becomes garrulous. The psyche’s
defense mechanisms become depleted, being unable to cope with the
avalanche of impressions that are received.

Where
is there room for silence, for inner prayer? A person does not see
himself properly; he appears to be living not in a home, but in a
theater with never-ending shows.

The
Holy Fathers say that there are three types of mental activity:
contemplation, which is born in the silence of prayer, reasoning, and
imagination, with imagination being the lowest form of thinking,
connected as it is with sensual passions and fantasy. The Holy Fathers
enjoin us to remain in a state of prayer, to give place to reasoning
whenever necessary in practical life (but at the same time knowing its
measure and limitations), and to combat imagination as one’s adversary.
Television, on the other hand, promotes the opposite: it develops
imagination, suppresses the mind’s creative force, and brings about an
abandonment of prayer. A person who spends the time of Lent watching
television is similar to a glutton and a drunkard who swallows
everything without discrimination, even without chewing the pieces, and
at the same time believes he is keeping fast according to all the Church
rules.

Observing the fast in conjugal life

Spouses
should strictly follow the customs and regulations of the Church in
regard to conjugal abstinence on feast days, Sunday, and Lenten days
(Wednesdays and Fridays and the four fasts), remembering the words of
St. Seraphim and Elder Ambrose that a disregard for these Church
regulations may lead to illness of the spouse and children. At the same
time, one should bear in mind that the church day begins from 6:00 of
the evening before and, therefore, one should abstain from the eve of
the feast or Lenten day until the eve of the following day.

But
what if one of the spouses does not wish to observe the Lenten day or
the feast? Here we come across one of the hazards of a marriage between
people of differing opinions and points of view. Such a situation
inevitably leads to family drama and deep sorrow. According to St. Paul,
a spouse may not be refused, but this will lead to a violation of the
sanctity of the feast or the fast.

At
this point we come to the conclusion that a prudent choice of spouse is
of great importance in ensuring happiness in marriage. The marriage,
which in essence constitutes a voluntary obedience, will be easy and
happy only when the soul submits to a pious and righteous spouse, and it
is impossible to avoid misfortune if the spouse turns out to be in the
grip of passion and sin. It is for this reason that the Apostle Paul
grieves for those who have entered into marriage: “Such shall have
trouble in the flesh; but I pity you” (1 Cor. 7:28).

Conclusion

A
Christian’s attitude towards fasting is essentially a touchstone for
his soul in gauging his attitude towards the Church of Christ and
towards Christ Himself. A soul which lives with a lively faith in Christ
cannot neglect fasting. Otherwise it will ally itself with those who
are indifferent to Christ and religion. In addressing Christians, the
New Martyr Priest Valentin Sventitsky writes: “Keep and cherish the fast
as one of the greatest sacred church treasures. Each time you abstain
from what is forbidden on the days of fasting, – you are one with the
entire Church. You are doing with one mind that which the entire Church
and all the saints have done from the very first days of the Church’s
existence. This will give you power and strength in your spiritual
life.”

A
certain opponent of Lent once said to the holy Elder Ambrose of Optina:
“What does it matter to God what kind of food we eat?” To this the
Elder replied: “It is not the food that matters, but the commandment;
Adam was expelled from paradise not for gluttony, but for tasting, just
tasting what was forbidden. For this reason even now you may eat
whatever you want on Tuesday and Thursday, and you are not punished for
it, but for Wednesday and Friday you are punished, because meekness is
developed through obedience.”

The
Jews cried out to God: “Wherefore have we fasted, and Thou seest not?”
And the Lord replies to them through the mouth of the prophet: “Behold,
in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, and exact heavy labors from
others… Is it such a fast that I have chosen, a day for a man to afflict
his soul? Wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the
Lord? Here is the fast that I have chosen: loose the bands of
wickedness, let the oppressed go free, and undo the heavy burdens; share
thy bread with the hungry and bring the poor that are cast out into thy
house… Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine
health shall spring forth speedily, and thy righteousness shall go
before thee, and the glory of the Lord shall be thy reward. Then shalt
thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and He shall say:
‘Here I am!’” (Isaiah 58:3-9). This marvelous place from the Book of
Isaiah denounces those who think to be saved only by following the
letter of the fast and forgetting the commandments of charity, loving
one’s neighbors, and serving them.

The
significance and purpose of genuine fasting in the life of a Christian
may be summarized by the following words of St. Isaac the Syrian: “The
fast is the guardian of all virtue, the beginning of the struggle, the
crown of abstinence, the beauty of virginity, the source of chastity and
prudence, the teacher of silence, the forerunner of all good deeds…
Fasting and abstinence produce a wondrous fruit in the soul – a
knowledge of God’s mysteries.”

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Machine Translated

Reader Daniel 1989

QUOTE

What separates us from the love of friends is envying or being envied, causing or receiving harm, insulting or being insulted, and suspicious thoughts. Would that you had never done or experienced anything of this sort and in this way separated yourself from the love of a friend.

Philokalia Vol. II, #21

QUOTE

'A faithful friend is beyond price' (Ecclus. 6:15), since he regards his friend's misfortunes as his own and suffers with him, sharing his trials until death.

Philokalia Vol. II, #93

OLD RUSSIAN SAYING

"If we have a good priest (or bishop), we give thanks to God. If a bad one, we endure him".